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Title 



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Descriptive 




Illasti^ated 



12 lianteiin Slides 



WIU-IAM HJRAU 

PHfLADELPHIA 
1891 



A 



Descriptive Reading 



ON 



CASHMERE 



X^ ILLUSTRATED BY TWELVE LANTERN 

il/ SLIDES 

7 

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JAN ^1,^S£2_/,, 



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WILLIAM H. RAU 

PHILADELPHIA 

1891 



Cotyrighi, jSgi, by Wtiijam H. Rati. 



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ILLUSTRATIONS. 



1. Panorama of Cashmere from the Kiosk. 

2. Maharajah's Summer Palace on the Jhelam. 

3. Grand Avenue of Poplars. 

4. Down the Jhelam from the Maharajah's City Palace. 

5. Third Bridge across the Jhelam, 

6. Apple Tree Canal and Hindu Temple from Chenar-Bagh. 

7. Cashmere Musicians. 

8. Black Glaciers in the Himalayas nearAmur-nath. 

9. View from the Cave of Amur-nath. 

10. Dead Pilgrim in the Road to Amur-nath. 

11. Sacred Cave of Amur-nath. 

12. Clouds lifting from the Snow-clad Peaks. 



CASHMERE. 



"Who has not heard of the Vale of Cashmere, 
With its roses, the brightest that earth ever gave. 
Its temples, and grottos, and fountains as clear 
As the love- lighted eyes that hang over their wave?" 

With these words Feramorz begins his delightful 
narrative of the adored Nourmahal, the Light of the 
Harem. The "unequalled Valley" has ever been to the 
poets and romancers of the East, as well as in our own 
half of the world, the ideal of an terrestial paradise. 
The striking contrast between the arid plains of Hindu- 
stan, but a few miles beyond its circling barrier of 
mountains, with the constant Spring and verdure of 
the Happy Valley has contributed to give it fame. 
Situated in the very midst of the desolate and barren 
peaks of the Himalayas, it seems as though the sur- 
rounding country had been denuded of its natural 
ornaments in order that its lovely slopes and plains 
might be made beautiful. 

1. Panorama of Caslmiere from the Kiosk. — The 

view of the valley, which lies spread at one's feet from 
some commanding height, is rendered, therefore, 
peculiarly charming by contrast with the circle of 
bare and solitary summits which enclose it. Before 
us is spread out a wide expanse of verdant plain, a 
land of perpetual Spring, which has been aptly de- 
scribed as "a veritable jewel in Nature's own setting 

(5) 



O CASHMERE. 

of frightful precipices, everlasting snows, vast gla- 
ciers." These rugged features of the country, while 
serving as a contrast to — 

"Kashmir-bi-Nuzir — without an equal ; 
Kashmir-Junat-puzir — equal to Paradise." 

serve also as its natural protector, guarding it alike 
from the fiery heat of the tropical plains to the south, 
and from the ice and snow from the higher regions of 
the Himalayas to the north. The Vale is an irregular 
oval, about ninety miles long by twenty miles wide, 
and is a comparatively level plain situated in that por- 
tion of the Himalaya range which marks the north- 
west boundary of Hindustan, at a height of 5,200 
feet above the sea. The surrounding peaks which 
overlook this remarkable region, vary in height from 
8,000 to 15,000 feet on the southern side, and reach- 
ing an altitude of 18,000 on the north, some of the 
loftier summits being covered with perpetual snow. 
To all appearances these mountains present an un- 
broken wall, but there is one opening — that out of 
which the river Jhelam flows, at the northwestern end 
of the valley. There are a number of passes into 
Cashmere, however, only four of which are open to the 
general traveller. The lowest of these is 11,000 feet 
above the level of the sea. Once within the valley 
we find that it is divided into two nearly equal parts 
by the Jhelam, upon which is situated, near its outlet, 
the capitol city of the country, Srinagar. The plain, 
as we have said, is comparatively level, but it is broken 
in places by raised plateaus or kareewahs. In the back- 
ground of the view before us is to be seen one of the 
kareewah, divided in places by deep ravines, down 



CASHMERE. 7 

which the torrents of the mountains beyond flow to 
add their volume to the waters of the Jhelam. The 
general aspect of the country, as we see, is that of one 
vast orchard, abounding in pomegranates, apples and 
pears, while in most places it is richly cultivated for 
the smaller vegetable products of the soil. 

2. Maharajah's Suminer Palace on the Jhelam. 

— The natural approach to Srinagar, the chief city of 
the valley, is by its great thoroughfare, the River 
Jhelam, which flows from the south-east to the north- 
west close to the northern boundaryof the plain. The 
city lies on each side of the river, extending for a 
distance of nearly three miles. To the north and 
almost encircling the city is the Dal, or city lake, 
which is connected with the Jhelam by various canals. 
This circumstance, coupled with the further fact that 
Srinagar has practically no streets as we understand 
the term, has given to the city the name of the Venice 
of the East — a designation aptly applied. We find 
here a race of boatmen who know no other homes 
than their floating doongahs and shikaras, and these 
vehicles are the universal means of conveyance, not 
only from point to point in the city but to the various 
villages and towns with which the floor of the valley 
is dotted. 

As we float gently down the placid stream our 
attention is attracted to a large square building, on the 
right — the summer palace of the Maharajah. There 
. is little about it to suggest that it is the abode of 
royalty, except its generous proportions. The ruler of 
Jummoo and Cashmere occasionally comes here, and 
it sometimes happens that distinguished visitors are 



8 CASHMERE. 

entertained here, for the Maharajah carries out to the 
letter all that even the strict laws of Oriental hospital- 
ity could demand. Farther on, the commanding hill 
known as the Takt-i-Suliman, or the seat of Suliman, 
overlooks the city. From the river we can just dis- 
cern the outline of a temple, the history of which 
carries us back to 200 years before the Christian Era. 
It had its origin with a Buddhist prince, passed after- 
wards into the hands of the Moslem conquerors, and 
now the sacred emblem of Siva shows that it is again 
used in a place of Hindu worship. The building is in 
a remarkable state of preservation, notwithstanding 
its hoary antiquity and is one of the few remains of 
a rival worship, which were left standing by the fierce 
fanaticismof the followers of Mohammed. 

3. Grand Aveiuie of Poplars. — We have said that 
there are no streets in Srinagar, that the river and 
canals are its thoroughfares and that boats are its 
vehicles. While this is a fact there is one noteworthy 
exception, a noble avenue of poplars, which leads 
from the river just below the point we have just 
passed. Poplars are very common in the valley, but 
no where in the world can there be found so many 
stately specimens as are assembled here. This avenue 
has been called the " Rotten Row" of Srinagar. 
Here may be seen the wealth and beauty of Cash- 
mere — a race, as is well known, famous throughout 
the world for its physical perfection. And no better 
opportunity could be had for seeing the people at 
their best than at their national game of" coghan" or 
polo, which is played on the parade ground, near the 
termination of the Avenue of Poplars. The iniita- 



CASHMERE. 9 

tion of this exciting game which we have seen in 
England and the United States, bears but a light re- 
semblance to the original. All classes of society in 
Cashmere and the adjacent province of Baltistan en- 
gage in it as if 'twas the one object of life, the chil- 
dren playing it in fact until they are old enough and 
acquire sufficient skill to take part in the wild scram- 
ble on horseback. The game is a very ancient one, 
having been known in Constantinople in the 12th cen- 
tury, and it was brought to Europe and America, 
being borrowed from these people in the fastnesses of 
the Himalayas. 

4. Down the Jlielani from tlie Maharajah's City 
Palace. — There is nothing monotonous in the ride 
through the city proper, as this glimpse from the Sher 
Garhi (the city fort and palace) will indicate. At one 
time the river was embanked, between certain defined 
limits, by huge blocks of lime-stone, but of these there 
remain at present little but the ruins. As at Venice, 
great flights of steps lead up from the water's edge at 
different points. There are no regular lines of build- 
ings, each house being independent of every other as 
to style as well as position, a fact which contributes 
greatly to the picturesque. Many of the domes ot 
the Hindu temples are entirely covered with gold> 
which glitters in the sun-light rendering them visible 
for very long distances. Such an one is in the view 
before us. At our feet is a characteristic group of 
the native boats. There, for instance, is the doongah, 
one of the larger craft available for journeys. It is 50 
or 60 feet in length, and from 6 to 8 feet wide. Half 
of its length is covered by awnings of matting sup- 



lO CASHMERE. 

ported by a wooden frame-work. Curtains of matting 
at the sides and end afford complete privacy and the 
apartment thus obtained being large enough for a bed 
or other furniture, the traveller can make himself very 
comfortable — at least, as much so as in any tent or in 
some of the native houses which he may be called 
upon to use. The after part of the boat is occupied by 
the crew, who with their wives and families make it 
their home all the year round. Both men and women 
take a share in the work of navigation, moving down 
stream by the aid of the current and by heart-shaped 
paddles. When the course is up-stream, the boat is 
drawn by the whole family harnessed together to a 
long tow-line. 

5. Third Bridge Across the Jhelain. — The two 

portions of the city of Srinagar, on either side of the 
Jhelam, are connected by seven quaint bridges, very 
old. They are formed of the trunks of the Himalaya 
cedar, or deodar, driven into the bed of the stream 
and supported with stones to form the foundations for 
the piers. The latter are built up of alternate layers 
of deodar, each successive layer projecting beyond 
the other so as to lessen the span. The upper timbers 
forming the road are sometimes covered with earth, 
and one of the bridges has upon its deck a row of 
shops, suggesting the old London bridge. The struc- 
ture spanning the stream, in the view before us, is the 
Fati Kadal, or the third bridge, while on the right 
bank — the prominent building in sight — is the Shah 
Hamadan Musjid, one of the most celebrated and 
most elajDorate mosques in the country. Like most 
others of its kind it is built of wood, the invaluable 



CASHMERE. II 

deodar; bells hang at various points from the project- 
ing roof, and, unlike the greater number of mosques, 
a golden ball surmounts the whole instead of the cres- 
cent. It is a shrine of great sacredness, and is claimed 
to have been founded on the site of an earlier Hindu 
temple, by a descendant of the prophet who was trans- 
ported through the air to Cashmere from Samarkand. 
A curious feature of this and other buildings of Srin- 
agar is the growth of vegetation upon the house-tops. 
This is referred to by the poet, who tells us that "the 
fair city on the Lake, whose houses, roofed with flow- 
ers appeared at a distance like one vast and variegated 
parterre" could not tempt Lalla Rookli from the sad 
thoughts from which she entered the Happy Valley. 
Behind the mosque, on an isolated hill about 300 feet 
high, frowns the Harri Parbat, a fortress built by the 
great Akbar, in 1590, to over-awe his recently con- 
quered city. It is no longer formidable, however, and 
though occupied by a small garrison, is in a half- 
ruined condition. 

6. Apple Tree Canal and Hindu Temple from 
Clienar Bag-li. — The Dal, or city lake, and the Jhelam 
are connected by several canals, but none are so 
famous as this Apple Tree canal, as we see it from the 
Isle of Chenar, in the Lake. Flowing peacefully be- 
tween rows of beautiful trees, exquisite gardens as- 
cending on either side, this silver pathway presents an 
ideal of Oriental beauty and splendor. Leading from 
the city palace of the Maharajah, on the Jhelam, 
through the centre of the city, it terminates at the 
city gate of the Dal, close to the famous Char Chenar. 
This was one of several gardens and islands con- 



1 2 CASHMERE. 

structed by the Delhi Emperors. The Char Chenar, 
or as it is also known, Rupa L.ank (or Silver Island), 
is a about an acre in extent, and it is ornamented by 
a single chenar, or plane tree, at each corner. It is 
said to have been planned by the beautiful Nourmahal, 
wife of the Shah Jehangir. And not far away is the 
wonderful garden of Shalimar, that Imperial palace 
which was "the best loved abode" of the Mogul 
princes, the glories of which are so vividly described 
in the great poetical work already quoted. 

7. Cashmere Musicians. — Reference has already 
been made to one class of the inhabitants of the 
valley — the boatmen. And while we look at this 
group of Cashmere musicians it is interesting to re- 
call the fact that in spite of the natural mountain bar- 
riers which protect it, the Happy Valley has been a 
constant temptation to forefgn invaders. Its history 
is a record of successive conquests and changes of 
rulers and of religion ; and at the present day, while 
under the rule of a Hindu monarch, the mass of the 
people are followers of Mohammed. With respect to 
the natives of Cashmere, and their characteristic phy- 
sical beauty, it should be added that they have been 
likened to "beautiful ancient statues not yet cleansed 
of the earth to which they had lain hurried forages." 
They appear to have no idea as to the utility of water 
for personal application; and another personal peculi- 
arity is that they excel in the Eastern art of lying — 
two points in which they are lamentably out of keep- 
ing with their poetic surroundings. It is hardly worth 
our while therefore to seek to make closer acquaint- 
ance with the inhabitants of this Indian paradise, for 



CASHMERE. 1 3 

the experience could not fail to be disappointing. 
This does not matter greatly, however, for the mar- 
vellous beauty of our surrounding is such that our 
time can be fully and profitably occupied in a study 
of the country. 

8. Black Glaciers in tlie Hiuialayas near Aniiu*- 
natli. — Th\is far but little has been said of the moun- 
tains which surround the Happy Valley, the mighty 
ridge of the Himalayas whose stupendous masses and 
towering summits suggested to the Hindu mythology 
the idea that they formed the support for the roof of 
the world. They are, it must be remembered, the 
greatest mountain range in the world, both as to ex- 
tent and elevation. The mountains extend along the 
northern boundary of Hindustan, a distance of from 
1200 to 1500 miles, and cover a territory 150 miles 
wide. When it is stated that the mean height of these 
passes through the Himalayas is over 17,000 feet, the 
wonderful character of the Cashmere Vale will • be 
better appreciated, its level being but litte over 5,000 
feet. The northern wall of this valley is broken by 
several small and narrow valleys or gorges, the most 
famous being those of the Scind and the Liddar, The 
latter is one of the most wild and picturesque in the 
region, and is a little to the north of Eastof Srinagar. 
At its upper end it is connected by a narrow pass with 
the Scind Valley, and with the great Zoji or Dras 
Pass, which at an elevation of 11,300 feet, leads into 
the lofty plateaus of Dras. We are now close to the 
limits of the eternal snow, and these wonderful black 
glaciers in the Liddar Valley, flowing down from 
summits of 17,000 to 18,000 feet, give an idea of the 
unutterable desolation of the view. 



14 CASHMERE. 

9. View from the Cave of Aiuiir-iiath. — We have 
chosen this narrow and difificult pass for our excur- 
sion in the mountains in order to visit one of the most 
sacred of the Hindu shrines in all India — the Cave of 
Amur-nath, the place where the immortal Siva is wor- 
shiped. We are standing now upon a narrow ledge 
of rock, at an elevation of 16,000 feet above the sea. 
At our right the precipitous wall of rock rises to the 
dizzy heights of the surrounding summits — from 4,000 
to 7,000 feet above us, while below is a narrow defile 
leading westward toward the Scind and Zoji Pass. 
There is a glacier, here, in every hollow of the ridge 
and in every corner where the ice can take a foothold. 
The glaciers, however, do not extend very low, the 
lowest in this immediate region being 10,500 feet 
above the sea. In certain seasons of the year it is 
possible to reach Amur-nath from the Scind, but the 
pass is often rendered inaccessible by snow and hence 
the thousands of pilgrims who annually come here, 
travel by way of the Liddar. 

10. Dead Pilgrini on the Road to Aniiir-iiath. — 

This illustration of the courage and perservance which 
is given to the weakest and poorest specimens of man- 
kind by religious zeal and fanaticism, was found on 
the road to this sacred shrine of Siva. Like many 
others of his faith he suffered the roughness and dan- 
gers of a journey into the "Abode of Snow," in order 
that he might share the reward promised to the faith- 
ful who offer their orisons at this Mecca of the Hin- 
dus. He was overtaken by a sudden blast of air from 
the icy heights above, and being but scantily clothed 
succumbed to the piercing cold. The subject is a 



CASHMERE. ^5 

melancholy one, but the loss of this victim was prob- 
ably not mourned by his nearest relatives and friends, 
for his death in the performance of so pious an act as 
a pilgrimage to Amur-nath, has, according to their 
belief, insured for him a happy future. 

11. Sacred Cave of Aniur-natli.— The sacred cave 
itself is, as we have already shown, at a desolate and 
weird' spot, in one of the wildest of the mountain re- 
cessses. It is of gypsum, about 150 feet square and 
about 30 feet high, and is filled with stalactites and 
icicles. Siva, one of the Hindu divinities, is supposed 
to reside in the cave, under the form of one of the 
numerous blocks of ice which fill the crevices of the 
rocks. The annual worship of Siva at this all but in- 
accessbile shrine, is said to have had its origin in the 
example of the divinities who were under the special 
protection of the Lord Siva. Thousands of pilgrims 
of every caste and rank, from every portion of Hin- 
dustan visit Amur-nath annually to take part in the 
great ceremony on the 24th of July— the frequent 
fatalities from exposure or from avalanches in no way 
checking the enthusiasm of the devotees. The cere- 
mony that takes place upon their arrival is thus de- 
scribed : "When the pilgrims arrive at the mouth of 
the cave they commence shouting, clapping their 
hands, and calling upon Siva. 'Show yourself to us,' 
is the universal and simultaneous exclamation and 
prayer of prostrate thousands. The cave is much 
frequented by rock pigeons, which, affrighted at the 
noise, rush out tumultuously, and are the answer to 
the prayer. In the body of one or other of these re- 
sides the person of their divinity ; and Siva, the 



l6 CASHMERE, 

Destroyer and All-powerful, is considered to be pre- 
sent and incarnate, as the harmless dove." The Fakirs 
and Brahmins, who attend the deity, are repaid for 
the desolate character of their abode and of their life, 
by the generosity of the pilgrims who consider that 
proper maintenance is a first duty. 

12. Clouds Lifting- from the Snow-Clad Peaks. — 

With one more view in this incomparable valley, in 
the mountains near the sacred cave, our visit to Kash- 
mir must end. We have here in this single vista, the 
tree-clad mountains and the bare peaks rising to an 
altitude of over 23,000 feet, capped with their every 
present crests of snow. The great cloud masses which 
had filled the narrow gorge before us have gradually 
risen, until they are now rolling away from the peaks, 
revealing to us their rugged outlines. No sign of 
human life mars the somber majesty of the prospect, 
and we cannot help but feel that surroundings, such 
as these are, fit places for the abodes of the gods. The 
mighty hills stand 

"Ranged in white ranks against the blue--untrod, 
Infinite, wonderful — whose uplands vast. 
And lifted universe of crest and crag, 
Shoulder and shelf, green slope and icy horn, 
Riven ravine, and splindered precipice 
Led climbing thought higher and higher, until 
It seemed to stand in Heaven and speak with gods." 






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